01 Cade Read online

  When that happened, he would never see her again.

  Cade shook his head. He didn’t even understand how it had happened. He could see being physically attracted to Riley; she was beautiful and sexy, not to mention having a great body. But the things he was feeling went way beyond physical attraction, and definitely way beyond anything he’d ever felt for a woman before. But how could he fall for a woman who irritated him so much? And Riley could infuriate him like no other woman he’d ever known. So, how could this have happened? He didn’t know the answer to that; he just knew it had.

  The bathroom door opened then, interrupting his thoughts, and Cade looked up to see Riley coming into the bedroom. She had showered and changed into those skimpy shorts and curve-hugging tank top that had caused him more than one sleepless night since he’d first caught sight of her wearing them.

  Cade cleared his throat and forced himself to tear his gaze away from her long, shapely legs. “I talked to my boss while you were in the shower,” he told her. “He’s going to arrange for another safe house, but until he has one setup, we’re going to have to stay here.”

  Riley nodded. “Okay.” She wet her lips in what he was sure was an unconscious gesture, and he almost groaned.

  “I...I wanted to thank you for what you did back at the safe house. You saved my life.”

  His jaw tightened. “I was just doing my job.”

  She looked away “I know,” she said. “But I haven’t exactly made that easy for you, and I’m sorry.”

  Damn right you haven’t, Cade wanted to growl, but instead, he simply shrugged off her apology. “It’s okay,” he said gruffly. And then realizing how hard it had been for her to apologize at all, he added, “I know this whole thing hasn’t been easy for you. Your life has been pretty hard the past five years. It’s understandable if you get frustrated with it every now and then.”

  She gave him a small smile. “Thanks for understanding.”

  “No problem,” he told her. He ran his hand through his hair. “Do you think you’ll be okay out here while I take a quick shower?”

  She nodded. “I’ll be fine.”

  He bent to pick up his bag. “Don’t go near the window,” he warned. “And don’t open the door to anyone.”

  “I won’t,” she assured him.

  Maybe Riley was finally getting it, Cade thought as he walked into the bathroom. Of course, all it had taken was someone shooting at her. But at least now, she would do as he told her.

  Not wanting to leave Riley alone any longer than necessary, Cade made the shower a quick one. Pulling on the extra pair of jeans he’d packed and a clean shirt, he slid his gun holster onto his belt, and then shoved his cell phone, keys and wallet all back into his pockets. Picking up his overnight bag, he opened the door and stepped into the bedroom, only to stop in his tracks when he realized that it was empty.

  Fear gripped him. He couldn’t have left Riley alone for more than five minutes, he thought. And in that time, he’d heard no screams and no scuffle, and yet Cade knew that the bastard must have taken her. But why would the man kidnap Riley? he wondered. Why not just shoot her and be done with it? Then again, did the man’s reasons really matter? Cade had to find her!

  Dropping his bag onto the floor with a thud, Cade crossed the room in two long strides and yanked open the door to see Riley standing in the hallway, the room key in her hand outstretched as if she’d just been about to stick it in the slot.

  Relief coursing through him, Cade grabbed Riley by the arm and pulled her into the room, letting the door slam close behind her. “Where the hell were you?” he demanded.

  She looked up at him with those big blue eyes of hers. “I went to get some ice,” she said softly.

  His brows drew together as he noticed the plastic bucket in her hand. “Ice? You went to get ice?” he said incredulously. “After everything that happened tonight, you’re still taking chances and foolishly risking your life!”

  Her gaze dropped to the ice bucket for a moment. “I guess I wasn’t thinking,” she said.

  Cade swore under his breath. How could he have thought she’d ever do as she was told? The woman had some pathological condition that prevented her from listening to anyone.

  “That’s your problem, Riley! You never think!” he growled. “You were almost killed back at that safe house tonight. If that bastard had followed us here, he could have grabbed you the moment you stepped foot outside the room, and there’s not a damn thing I could have done. Hell, I probably wouldn’t even have heard anything over the water running in the shower.”

  Riley chewed on her lower lip as she looked up at him. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I’ll be more careful next time.”

  Cade’s jaw tightened. “I’m going to make sure that there isn’t a next time!”

  Taking the bucket of ice from Riley’s hand, Cade slammed it down on the desk and marched her over to the bed.

  In one swift motion, he sat down on the edge of it and dragged her over his knee, then lifted his hand to bring it down on her upturned bottom in a flurry of quick, hard spanks. This time, he told himself, he wasn’t going to stop until he was sure she wasn’t going to ever do anything that foolish again.

  Riley bit her lip to stifle her cries; they were in a hotel after all, and she didn’t want anyone to hear. The smacks stung fiercely through the thin material of her shorts, though, and part of her wanted to protest each and every stinging spank he gave her. But the other part of her knew she deserved this spanking. She couldn’t believe she had been so stupid leaving the room like that. Cade was right. She didn’t think. She just did whatever she felt like doing without any thought to the consequences. This wasn’t about just some silly set of rules anymore. Someone had really tried to kill her tonight, and she had just foolishly risked her life for a bucket of ice. Truth be told, she had been risking her life ever since she’d come into the Witness Protection Program. And her carelessness had finally caught up with her. A spanking was the least that she deserved, she thought bitterly. So, she submitted willingly to Cade’s firm hand, hoping that this time, it would have an effect.

  But as Cade’s hand continued to come down over and over on her poor, defenseless ass, she couldn’t help but start to squirm and kick. She might deserve it, but yikes, did it sting! It didn’t help that her shorts seemed to be riding up even higher with each spank to give him easy access to her bare cheeks.

  “Owwwww!” Riley finally squealed, unable to keep silent any longer when his hand came down on the tender area of her sit-spots for what must be the umpteenth time. “Cade, please...”

  But it seemed Cade was determined to make sure she learned her lesson this time because he only spanked her that much harder, and Riley pressed her face into the soft bedding to muffle her squeals of protest. Her ass felt like it was on fire!

  Just then, Cade stopped spanking her, and she breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that he was done. But to he rshock, Riley felt him grab the waistband of her shorts. With one quick yank, he pulled them all the way down to the middle of her thighs! Oh my God, she thought. She wasn’t wearing any panties!

  Her face flaming scarlet, she craned her neck to look at him over her shoulder. “Wh-what are you doing?” she squealed.

  Cade lifted a brow. “You said it yourself,” he told her. “These spankings don’t seem to be having the desired effect. So, I’m going to make sure this one does.”

  She opened her mouth to protest, but his hand was already coming down on her bare bottom. She inhaled sharply at how much more the spanks stung now than they had before. She wouldn’t have believed that the shorts could have provided that much protection, but apparently, they had.

  What made it even worse, though, was the knowledge that she was completely exposed to Cade now. Riley tried to clench her ass cheeks tightly together, hoping to hide her pussy from his view, but that only made the spanks sting that much more, and she quickly gave up on the idea. To heck with it, she decided. He probably wasn’t e
ven paying attention to her more feminine attributes, anyway. Clearly, she thought as his hand found her tender sit-spots, he was only interested in spanking her.

  Even so, he couldn’t help but see her pussy, she thought. The idea alone was enough to start a rebellious tingle between her legs. It wasn’t her fault, really. She hadn’t been with a guy in a long time, and regardless of the fact that Cade was in the process of spanking her right now, he was still utterly gorgeous.

  Oh God, how could she even be thinking things like that? He was spanking her!

  So what? she told herself. She shouldn’t be complaining. This was the first time she’d been even half-naked with a guy in a long while. If a spanking was what it took, then maybe she should volunteer for one more often.

  She suddenly realized the spanking wasn’t stinging nearly as much as it had when Cade had first started. That wasn’t a surprise, she thought. She was barely paying attention to anything other than her pussy, which was getting wetter by the second!

  Riley wondered if Cade could tell she was becoming excited. She hoped so. Because if not, she was going to have to do something extreme. That thought brought her up short. Was she saying that she wanted to have sex with Cade? When had that happened?

  Before she could puzzle that out, the spanking was over and Riley was back on her feet. She didn’t bother to pull up her shorts, but just stood there, panting for breath and cupping her flaming ass cheeks with her hands. Lifting her gaze, she looked up at Cade from beneath lowered lashes. Her breath caught at the look of anguish on his handsome face. He wasn’t mad at her, she realized; he was worried about her.

  He pulled her close. “You scared the hell out of me when I walked out of the bathroom and found you gone,” he said hoarsely. “Don’t ever do that me again, Riley.”

  Riley gazed up at him. This wasn’t just a U.S. Marshal talking, she thought. This was a man who was concerned about someone he cared for. She knew that in her heart, without a doubt, and that made her want him even more.

  She leaned closer to him. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “It won’t ever happen again.”

  But Cade didn’t seem to have heard her. Instead, he was gazing intently at her lips. Knowing the effect it would have on him, she slowly wet her lips with her tongue. He must have been as close to the edge as she was because that little bit was all it took.

  With a groan, Cade slid his hand into her long hair and lowered his head to cover her mouth with his. Riley didn’t resist, but instead pulled him even closer, and as he molded her against him, she could feel the heat from his body.

  It had been so long since she’d been with a man, and she reveled in the sensation.

  The kiss went on and on until Riley didn’t think she could breathe. Only then, did Cade lift his mouth from hers to trail hot kisses down her neck. His nibbling made her shiver and, clutching him to her even more tightly, she tossed her head back with a sigh. God, that felt so good!

  Still heady from his kisses, she was barely even aware that Cade had stopped nibbling on her neck to urgently slide his hands underneath the hem of her tank top. Desperately wanting to feel his hands on her naked body,

  Riley lifted her arms over her head so that he could take off her top. Suddenly realizing that her shorts were still banded down around her thighs, she wiggled her hips to push them the rest of the way down.

  Cade’s eyes turned to molten gold as he studied her, and Riley felt herself blush as he took in her rounded breasts and slender waist before it dropped to the gentle curve of her hips and long, shapely legs.

  Standing there completely naked while he was still fully clothed made Riley feel utterly wanton and terribly shy at the same time, and she would have reached for the buttons on his shirt, but he caught her hands in his and pulled her close to kiss her again. This time, his hands gently cupped her breasts for one long delicious moment before sliding down her back to cup her red-hot ass cheeks. Riley gasped against his mouth as he squeezed her freshly- spanked bottom. She hadn’t realized how tender it still was! And yet the firm pressure of his fingers had her pussy clenching with excitement, and she moaned as she realized how wet she was getting. Deciding that the foreplay had gone on long enough, she slid her hands up the front of his shirt and began to savagely pull at the buttons.

  With a soft chuckle, Cade released her to lend his assistance, and within moments, his clothes had joined hers on the floor. Now it was her turn to study him, and Riley let her hungry gaze rove over his naked body. God, he was so gorgeous! From his broad shoulders and muscular chest to his tight abs and long, powerful legs, he was perfect, she thought. And to top it all off, his extremely hard cock was just waiting for her attention! She would have knelt down in front of him and taken him in her mouth right then, but he didn’t give her the chance. Instead, he took her hands and nudged her backward until she was up against the edge of the bed.

  More than ready to have him inside her, Riley lay back on the bed, but Cade surprised her by leaning down to slowly kiss his way up the inside of her legs. Perhaps a little more foreplay would be okay, she thought as he alternated from one leg to the other.

  But Cade seemed determined to take his time, and within moments, Riley was impatient again. Sliding her fingers into his hair, she tried to urge him up to her pussy, but he refused to play the game her way. Instead, he stopped at mid-thigh to tease and nibble at the skin there. While what he was doing felt incredibly wonderful, it was also incredibly frustrating, and she heard herself groan in exasperation. Only then did he begin to kiss his way up her legs again.

  But even once Cade reached the junction of her thighs, he continued to tease her. He slowly trailed his tongue along either side of her pussy lips, dipping inside occasionally, but never allowing himself to come too close to her throbbing clit.

  Riley groaned again in even deeper frustration. At the sound, Cade lifted his head to look at her with amusement.

  “Something wrong?” he asked softly.

  “Stop teasing me, Cade,” she begged. “Please.”

  His mouth quirking, he lowered his head to immediately focus his attention directly on her plump clit.

  Sliding his hands up her legs, he cupped her still-stinging ass in a tight grip that made her gasp. The combination of sensations was so intense that it was almost too much, but at the same time, it felt so amazing that she didn’t want him to ever stop. Lacing her fingers into his hair to hold him in place, she slowly began to rotate her hips in time with his licking.

  It didn’t take long for her orgasm to build, and within moment, she was crying out as wave after wave of pleasure rushed over her. Somehow, Cade seemed to know exactly how she liked it, and his light, feathery licks let her ride out the orgasm for an unbelievably long time. Only then did he stop and climb into bed with her.

  Riley had planned to return the oral favor, but Cade didn’t give her the chance, instead slipping between her legs to slide his hard cock up and down the opening of her pussy. Realizing that he meant to tease her again, she wrapped her legs around his hips to immediately draw him inside of her.

  “No more teasing,” she growled, hooking her hand behind his head and dragging him down for another searing kiss.

  Cade didn’t argue, but kissed her passionately as he thrust himself deeply inside her.

  Time lost all meaning for Riley then as he continued to move in and out of her. As excited as he obviously was, she was amazed at his stamina. Her orgasm seemed to have no beginning or end, but was just one, long, glorious burst of pleasure.

  Riley didn’t think it was possible for it to get any better until she heard Cade groan with his own release.

  Knowing that she had the ability to make him come so hard made her own orgasm that much more powerful, and she clamped her legs more tightly around him as he pushed his hard cock deep inside her and held himself there.

  The pleasure that rippled through her as she came again was so intense that it almost brought her to tears. That had never happened to her be
fore, and she could only wonder what it was about this man that had brought on such powerful emotions.

  The next morning, Riley awoke to find herself curled up against Cade’s side, her head pillowed on his muscular chest, her arms thrown over him possessively. With a sigh, she cuddled closer to him. It had been so long since she’d been with a man, especially one so strong and protective, and she had missed it more than she’d realized.

  As she lay there, her lips curved into a smile. Last night had been amazing, she thought. No man had ever made love to her so passionately and completely as Cade had. That first frenzied lovemaking session had been followed by several more, each slower and more tender than the one before it. Oh yes, she thought again, it had definitely been amazing.

  And, she suddenly realized with a sickening lurch, it had also been a really big mistake. While she could admit that the sex was the best she’d ever had, sleeping with Cade had definitely been a stupid thing to do. But she hadn’t been able to stop herself. She had wanted Cade, plain and simple, and so she hadn’t bothered to think about what it would mean.

  She wasn’t the type to sleep with a man on a whim. Usually, it took her weeks of dating a guy before she even considered it, and that was only after she really fell for him. When she did fall for a guy, though, she fell hard.

  And after making love with Cade last night, she had fallen for the sexy Marshal with a really big thud! She would have to keep her distance from him at the next safe house, she told herself, or else risk losing her heart to the man altogether.

  As if on cue, Cade’s cell phone rang. He seemed to be sleeping so deeply that for a moment, Riley wondered if he would even hear it, but when he immediately reached out to grab it, she realized that he must already have been awake.

  Though she had been expecting the Marshals Service to call, Riley couldn’t help but let out a sigh as she listened to Cade talk to the caller about transferring her to another safe house. From what she could hear, it sounded like they wanted to move her right away. She had hoped she and Cade would be able to stay at the hotel a little while longer.